Duplicating machine



Aug. 20, 1940. A` P. LEE

DUPLICATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 2o, 1940. A, P, LEE 2,212,347

DUPLI CATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 18, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Alberi R Zee INVENTOR. BY m f HIS ATTORNE Aug.' 20, 1940. A. P. LEE

DUPLICATING MACHINE Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 18, 1957 an mh Patented Aug. 20, 1940 y UNITED STATES PATENT y OFFICE y L 2,212,347 t i DUPLICATING MACHINE AlbertlAP. Lee,` Chicago, Ill., assgnor, by mesne assignments, to City National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., a nationalbanking corporation, as trustee Application Januaryis, 1937, serial No. 121,133 Q 14 claims.y (o1. 1v1- 114) This inventionrelates to duplicating devices, and more particularly to an improved form of multigraphing machine particularly adapted for reproducing rcopy in several colors.

`One of the important objects of the invention is the provision of a device ofthe class described having a `reciprocable carriage provided with a plurality of removable inkwells or trays, which in turn are provided with a plurality of tapered apertures communicating to the bottom side thereof and each having an ink-absorbing blanket disposed over the bottom side to receive ink from said apertures, and means for positioning a stencil or the like against saidl blanketto receive various colored inks from said wells.

A further object is the provision of a housing member having a reciprocable carriage as aforesaid, arranged therein for manual operation and having a novel form of automatic paper feeding means disposed below the carriage and operable to position one sheet at va timein printing position for each reciprocation of the carriage.

Still another object is the provision in a device of the class described,v including the housing, reciprocable carriage,v the automatic paper feed means aforesaid, and having an impression roller disposed below said carriage and `normally urged toward the same to pressa sheet of paper into printing engagement with the stencil on vthe carriage, and means for automatically retracting said roller from printing engagement with the bottom of the carriage when they latter reaches a 'predetermined position. i

Other objects reside in the provision of mechanism for properlyv positioning a supply of paper for automatically feeding one sheetat a time into printing position and properly gauging the position of said sheet relative to the aforementioned impression roller, so as to assurel a proper register ofthe copy within the area of the sheet.

Still other novel aspects of construe-tion and operation will appearl as'the following particular description proceeds in view of the yannexed drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 isa perspective of the improved machine;

Fig. 2 vis a vertical section taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;'

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view with the frame in section, and showing the paper apron, impression .,roller, paper feed, and discharge guides, taken along lines 3--3 of Fig. 2;

f Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section through the housing, showing a portion of the roller ccntrol mechanism, and taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section i through the housing and showing a portion of the carriage in plan, the view being taken along lines 5--5 of Fig. 2; l

Fig. 6 is an enlarged Vertical sectional detail .16 of the c-arriage structure, taken along lines E-f of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal vertical section through the carriage, taken along lines 'I-I of Fig. 6;

Fig-8 is a top plan View of the carriage proper; :1,0

Fig- 9 is a top plan detail of one form of link tray assembly` or combination; f H

Fig. 10 is an enlarged lvertical fragmentary sectional detail through an ink tray, taken along lines ln-lo of Fig. 9, andl-iuustratmg the ink 1.5

feeding means; l 1

Fig. 1l is an enlarged perspective detail of the paper registering rollers; while Fig. 12 is a fragmentary vertical section through the center of the machine andshowing ,520 the automatic paper feed andpaper vr'egisterin rollers in detail.

In general, the improved duplicating machine as seen in Fig. 1, comprises an elongated housing I5 having a hood portion I6 with cut-away -or open sloping end portions II and I'I, and a manually reciprocable carriage I8 movable within-'the housing longitudinally relative to its lopen'end portions. The housing I5 may be anintegrally cast or ,3,0 assembled member preferably of metal, and pro` vided with a pair of oppositely disposed longitudinally extensive channel or track members I9 secured to its inner vertical wall portions (Figs. 1, 2, and 4). Extended laterally from both inner 35 verticalwall portions of the'.housing, substantially below the hood portion I6 thereof and the rails I9, are a pair of overlying bosses 2 0 and 2| having vertically aligned openings 22 through which extendin a vertical direction a rodlike,f4,0 roller supporting member 23 (Figs. 2 and 4), terminating at their upper extremities in' an yenlarged head portion 24 having a transversely directed opening 25 in which the shouldered end portions 26 of the impression roller shaft 2I are 45 received toprovide a pivotal or bearing support for the roller.

The roller supporting members 23 are twoA in number, one on each side of the housing, and are partly threaded near their head portions 24 to50 receiveL tensioning nuts 28 between which and the K inner surface of the lower boss or lug 2| are extended compression springs 29 disposed on the supporting rods in such manner as to bear against their respective tensioning nuts 28 and urge the55 However, means are provided for moving and holding the roller 30 downwardly in a lowered position away from the bottom of the carriage I8, and hence out of printing engagement with the latter. The foregoing roller control means includes a pair of toggle arms 3| and 32, pivotally joined at their inner extremities by an elongated pin or stud 33 which extends in a direction toward the center of the housing, above the tracks I9, for contacting engagement with the enlarged head portions 34 of `upstanding pins 34 (Fig. 4) carried on both upper sides of the carriage I8. The toggle rod 3| is pivotally attached', as at 35, to a suitable lug formation on the inner surface of ther housing below the hood I6, while the lowermost extremity of the toggle rod 32 is pivotally secured by means o-f a pin 36 in a slotted upper end portion ofthe head 24 of lift rods 23.

Each of the vertical side walls of the housing I 5 is provided, on their inner surfaces at apoint just below the hood I3, with laterally extending and oppositely disposed bosses 31 (Fig. 2) having laterally extended central apertures which receive the corresponding end portions of 'a transverse rod 38 which carries a pair of roller-control lever arms 39 adjacent each of the bosses 3l (Fig. 2,) each having laterally extended pins 40 disposed for engagement against the longitudinal edges of the upper toggle arms 3| on each side of the carriage. Each of the control arms 39 may be pro-r vided with an inwardly directed handle part 4| engageable by the user to pivot the arms downwardly to cause the pins 40 thereon to bear against the upper toggle arms 3| and thus pivot the toggle `levers 3| and 32 into and past dead or over center i position to move and hold the roller 3|) ina lowered position relative to the carriage I8 and against vthe tension of springs 29. It should be observed that the laterally extending bosses 31 are so positioned as to limit the forward movement (that is toward the right in Fig. 2*) of the toggle arms when the same have been urged an adequate distance past dead center,` thus assuring tha'tfthe roller 3|) will not snap back into raised position. The toggle mechanism is a form of quick, snapaction or over-center means formoving the roller quickly into and out of position for properly timed movement-in cooperation with the paper feeding and releasing features.

The carriage, which is generally indicated at I8 in Fig. 8, comprises a quadrangular frame having .alaterally extensive head bary vprovided vwith a plurality of upstanding bosses 45 spaced apart laterally across the frame to register. with the usual openings in the stencil sheet headband.

vThe innermost edge of the head bar 45v is separated from the rest of the framefby a laterally extensive stencil sheet opening 4'! through which thestencil passesv to the underside of theink trays or platens. The opposite lateral cross '-member of the carriage is provided with'handle means 50, while the longitudinal sides of the carriage are provided with track flanges 5| receivable freely in the channels or tracks 9 on the housing. At suitably spaced intervals along the flanges 5| are notched or cut-out areas 52, in which are positioned rollers 53 adapted to move in the channels or tracks I9 so that the carriage I8 may be freely reciprocated by manipulation of handle 5|).

In order to limit the reciprocal movement of the carriage in both directions, a stop lug |40 is provided on the upper surface of the tracks or rails I9 .'(Figs. 2 and 5) closely adjacent the toggle pivots and adapted to be engaged by the upstanding stop lugs 34 at both ends of the carriage I8 so as to stop the same at an instant after the toggle has been set or tripped, whichever.

On the underside of the head bar 45, opposite to the side on which stencil lugs 45 are situated,

are a plurality of spaced, elongated buffer bosses |30 (Figs. 2, 4, '77), each having a paper register notch |32 (Fig. 7) adapted to engage the forward or upper edge of a sheet of paper that has been advanced too far and urge the same backwardly on the stack againstthe register rollers ||3 just before the roller 3!! is trippedxor snapped linto position against the buffer bosses |30 to grip the so as to provide a slanting: longitudinal inner bottom surface `55 which slants upwardly from the handle end of the carriage toward the head 45 thereof. Formed adjacent the respective longitudinal extremities of the slanting surface 55,.are ledges 55 against which the respective longitudinal extremities of a tray clamping bar 5l rest so as to be spaced from the surface 55 a distance corresponding to the thickness of the tray flanges 58, the bars 5l being secured in place by means Aof screws 59 for example, so as to bear against the tray flanges and secure the trays or platens in place in the manner shown .particularly in sectioninliigfi.,A I

The ink traysor platens are provided preferably in the rectangular forms shown in Fig. 9,

therebeing desirably a number of these trays adequate to fillthe open central/areas or well of carriage I8. The trays are also dimensioned and partitioned variously so that a variety of tray compartments may be had, each compartment being provided with a different colored ink in Such manner that asingle impression willvprintthe stencil copyV in a number of colors corresponding to the number of colors providedin the several platens or compartments, and by variously re-arranging the combination and disposition of these trays novel and varied color schemes may.

be achieved. y .i

`As seen in Figs. 2, 6, 9, and 10, the trays areof rectangular form preferablyr of metal and have a iiat bottom portion 5U bordered by upstanding vrwail portions 6| so as to form a kshallow tray as seen in the sectional views of Figs. 2 and 6, for example. The bottom portions 60 are provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced funnelor conically-shaped ink feeder-openings 62 (Fig. 10),

' disposed with their widest openings in the upper bottom of the trays 6|? and their narrower openings in thebott'om of the trays 50 for communication with the ink absorbing banket t3 stretched over thebottom by means shortly to be described.

Where a number of trays or platens are 'ar` have'o'ne longitudinal-extremity 69 (Figfl) bent :back uponf themselves so as to hook over a suit-I ranged in side by side relation, they are provided with 'spacing lugs |25 (Figs. '1 and 9) disposed on their lateral lower edge portions so as to space individual trays from one another in a direction across the carriage, the individual trays |21 being differentiated from the double or multiple well type indicated at |26, the latter, it will be recalled, being provided with integrally formed longitudinally extensive spacing channels 66 (Fig. 1o). l

' The blankets 63 are preferably of an ink ab sorbing fabric especially prepared and adapted to retain considerable quantities of ink without danger of leakage from the tray, while at the same time presenting an adequately inked surface for printing and impression purposes, the ink being retained on the inner tray surface and seeping downwardly Athrough the tapered opening 62 into the blanketv 63 and quickly spreading through the latter in a uniformly distributed manner.

Each tray or platen is preferably provided with its own inking blanket 63, since a variety of colored inks are used, and these blankets are secured against the bottom portions of each platen by means of laterally extended cross rods 64 (Figs. '1 and 10) seated in upstanding bosses or brackets 65 provided adjacent the corner portions of each tray, so that one such bar 64 is provided at each longitudinal end of each tray compartment with the blanket 63 stretched over the bottom of the tray and looped around the bars 64 and secured in place by sewing or similar means.

Where a plurality of compartments are provided in one tray |26, as in Figs. 8 and 9 for example, the trays may be provided with partition walls 6| and, as seen in Fig. l0, the bottom side of the tray is then provided with a'longitudinally extensive slot or channel 66 extended beneath the partition wall so as to prevent the seepage or capillary movement of ink from one tray across the bottom' to the blanket of the next one, and it will be observed that the blanket-supporting rod may be conveniently extended all the way across the tray through an apertured bracket or boss 65' formed on the wall 6|. At this-juncture, it is thought appropriate to call attention to the disposition of the stencil sheet 61 against the blanket 63 on the bottom of the trays, as seen especially in Fig. l0.

The stencil sheet 61 may be of any commonly available type, and after having the copy impressed thereon is placed in printing position on the carriage by inserting its bottom edge into the lateral opening 41 and passing the sheet toward the left on the bottom side of the platens or ink trays (Figs. 1 and '1), and thereafter positioning the headband 61 on the head bar 45 of the carriage with the stencil mounting studs 46 disposed in the usual headband openings.

It should be .observed that when the several platens or trays and their respective blankets are in place in the carriage, the blanketed bottoms thereof lie in a plane disposed at an angle to the horizontal corresponding to the slope of the inclined surface 55 (Fig. 1), the bottommost surfaces of the blankets bein-g covered by the stencil sheet 61 and the latter extending to the handle 'end of the carriage, while the'longitudlnal side portions hang over the outer marginal longitudinal edges of the blanket Where they are clamped down against the carriage frame by means of 1ongitudinally extensive straps 68. The straps 68 may be of metal and are preferably flexible, and

ably slottedfportion of the frame in the edge ofv the vstencil mounting'y member 45. .At their opposite extremities, the straps 68 are turned up JI5 to overlie a vertical edge portion of the frame cross memberwhich carries the handle 56, and are` securedto the same by means of screws or the like 1|. By this means the longitudinal edge portions of the stencil sheet 61 are drawn tightly over the'corresponding edges of the blankets and away froml the printing or impression plane, so that in addition to trimming in the edge portions of the stencil sheet the latter is tightly stretched over the ink blankets, thus assuring a. uniformly disposed impression surface, and avoiding creeping of ink around the side edges o-f the stencil.

The improved duplicator includes a novel means yfor supporting a stack of paper and feeding the same one sheet at a time into printing-,20 position. This latter means, as seen in Fig, 2, includes an inclined paper supporting apron which rests upon and is secured to inclined flanges 16 formed on opposite inner side walls of the housing and inclined upwardly so that the; inner terminal yupturned edge 11 of the apron is positioned close to the roller 30, in such manner that a sheet of paper resting upon the apron may be slid upwardly onto the roller in -a position to be pressed between the latter and the bottomc portion of the carriage I8 when the latter is 1 moved forwardly.

As seen in the top plan view of Fig. 5, the apron 15 is provided with paper guide means in the form of a plurality of upstanding studs or bosses35 18 on arms 18 (see bottom view of Fig. 4) which are pivotally attached, as at 19, on the underside vof the apron. The bosses 18 protrude from the underside of they apron upwardly through arcuate slots 80 which are curved inwardly toward they,

the peripheral portion of the roller 30'.

The pivotal disposition'of bosses 18 is important since it permits turning the stack of paper sideways out of normal position in the event the, stencil is not straight. Also, it should be observed that there is no other obstruction on the upper apron surface and the paper stack can lie perfectly flat.

The printed sheet is guided in its m'ovemento off of the roller 30 by a pair of guide wings 83"Y disposed at the axial extremities of the roller 30, and securedv for vertical adjustment relative to the housing and roller by means of brackets 84 (Fig, 4) provided with vertically elongated slots, 65 having set screws `threaded into Vthe frame or housing vvWall (not shown). Each of the Wings 83 has an inturned finger portion 85 suitably curved toward'the central axis of the lmoving sheet and spaced a distance adequately awaye, from the roller to direct the moving sheet downwardly without exerting any appreciable pressure Y on the same, it being observed thatthe roller 30 is of a len-gth sufficient to leave a margin of paper guiding wings 83 are positioned close to the axial extremities of the roller and at a level near to the upper periphery of the roller so that the marginal portion of the paper will overhang the axial end of the roller and pass beneath the guiding wings 83 and finger portions 85 thereof.

As seen in Fig. 2, the inner vertical surface portions of the housing are provided with downwardly inclined bosses or flanges 8l to which is attached an inclined discharge apron 88 terminating at its lower extremity at the right-hand opened lower end portion of the ho-using opening I'I'. Extended centrally from a lower crosswise vertical wall portion of the housing is a ledge 59 upon which rests a slidable apron having an inner lateral edge portion bent back upon itself, as at 9|, to engage the inner edge portion of the shelf bracket B9 so as to limit the outward sliding movement of the adjustable apron or tray 99. The outermost lateral edge portion of the adjustable paper tray or apron 90 is turned up y to provide a combination handle and paper stopping abutment 92.

An automatic paper feed means is provided in .the form of a reciprocably movable arm 95 (Figs. 1 and 2) pivotally supported between the bifurcated end portion 9S of an offset arm 91 rotatable with a cross rod 99 extended between the vertical side Walls of the housing above the lower end of the paper apron l5. The offset arm 91 has a boss 99 into which is threaded an adjustable stopping pin |99, the outermost end of which is adapted to bear against a lateral edge of the feed arm 95 to pivot the latter upwardly about the shaft 99 after the latter has been turned a predetermined distance, depending also upon the adjustmentof the pin |99 (see also Figs. 2 and 12).

The inner end of the feed arm 95 has an offset bifurcation 95 and has a peculiarly shaped paper sliding member |Il| pivotally mounted therein, as at |02, this member having a radial tail portion |93 adapted to bear against an adjustable screw member |94 threadable into the end of the arm 95. The member |03 also has a rocking surface |95 disposed radially of the axis of pivotation |02 in adirection substantially opposite to the `tail portion |03. Likewise disposed radially of the axis of pivotation and divergent relative to the tail portion |93 and the rocking surface |05, is a claw-shaped cut-out portion |96 which is adapted to wedgingly hold a compressible friction pad |01 in the form of a Wad of sponge rubber for example.

The cross shaft 98 is provided adjacent one inner extremity with a cam arm |08 (Figs. 1, 2, and 3) disposed in the path of movement o-f carriage I8, so as to be engaged by the latter to pivot the rod 98 in an anti-clockwise direction against the tension of a return spring |09 anchored at its respective extremities to shaft |08 and to a portion of the housing wall. Whilethe operation of the paper feed will be described in detail hereafter, it will be observed that the rearward or return movement of the carriage I8 causes the latter to strike the arm |98 and pivot the shaft 98 to urge the feed arm 95 in a forward direction to the right. This effects a movement of the paper feed member ||JI to move arsingle sheet into printing position.

, At the lower extremity of the apron 15, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, is a screw stud III) having a flat vertical face portion II I against which the lower lateral edge portions of a stack of paper are adapted to bear. The stud is adjustably slidable in an elongated slot I2 in the apron, so that the stack of papermay be moved upwardly on the apron to positions of varying yproximity to the upper end thereof. v

In some instances Incl it desirable to position the uppermost edge portion of,4 the paper very accurately relative to the roller 39, and for this purpose I have provided twin rollers I I3 (Fig. 11) rotatable on a bifurcated or yoke-like end portion I I4 of an arm l5 which is pivotedA at its freei` extremity in the slotv portion of a lugrllliiupstanding from the apron at a point corresponding to the desired lower edge position of the paper stack, the member I6 serving to retain the stack on the apron. While the operation of these gauging or positioning rollers IIS will be described in detail, it may be observedhere that they are adapted to engage the lower edge of a single sheet to limit backward movement of the same after it has been positionedrby the feed arm.

95, because sometimes the top sheet will carry the next underlying sheet with it a short distance, and when the underlying sheet is thereafter advanced, it will be too far ahead of the desired position.

Operation In operation the machine may be used by placing a stack of paper on the inclined apron l5 beneath the feed arm 95, and between the arcuately movable studs 'I8 with the lower edge of the paper stack bearing against the face III of the adjustable stopping screw I 9. It may be assumed that a number of trays or ink platens, each iilled with a particular color of ink, are positioned in the carriage I8 in the manner previously described, and that the ink has 'seeped thro-ugh the constricted apertures in the bottoms 60 of the trays and into their respective blankets 63, to seep into the stenciled configura#- tions in the stencil sheet 5l. lf desired, a' cover" plate |29 (Fig. l) having handles I2! and depending side wall portions |22, may be tted loosely onto the top portions "of the trays or platens to keepnthe ink clean.

The discharge tray 99 may be pulled out into m the position shown in Fig. l, and the operator may grasp the handle 59 of carriage I9 and draw the latter toward and into the position shown in Fig. 2, at which time the forward'upstandingy tripping pins 34 will bear against the laterally extending toggle pins 33 and release the toggle arms so as to cause springs 29 to urge the roller 39 with quick movement upwardly into printing position.

As the carriagexmoves backwardly the portion' vadjacent the handle 59 bears against the cam arm |08, pivoting the shaft 98 in an anti-clockwise direction and urging the feed arm 95 forwardly into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, this movement being effected against the tension of the coil spring |99. As the arm 95 moves forwardly the feeding member l0! (Fig. 12) pivots about its axis |92 to bring the frictional feed member IUI into contact with the uppermost vsheet of paper, and as the arm continues' for-y the carriage continues its forward movement the paper Will be drawn withit vand pressed tightly against the stencil during such movement.

Meanwhila'the carriage movement permits the cam arm I 08 and its shaft 9B to rotate in a clockwise direction back to normal `position under, the urgence of spring |09, so as'to retract the arm 95. At the beginning of thisv retractive movement, Athe feed member I 0I pivots in an anticlockwise direction and ymoves the friction member |01 out of contact with the underlying sheet of paper and permits the feeding member to slide backwardly on the surface |05 thereof until the feed arm is in its normal position. In other words, ,as the arm 95 is reciprocated bythe vcarriage, the feed member IDI 'rocks in the yokelike end portion of arm 95 and alternately presents the friction member |01 and the sliding surface |05 to the surface of the underlying sheet of paper.

-At the en d of the forward stroke of the carriage, the printed sheet will have passed beneath the 4guide wings 83 and lingers 85 thereof (Fig. 3) and be directed downwardly onto the discharge apron 88 and the adjustable tray or apron 90, the rearward toggle tripping pins 34 having meanwhile engaged the toggle pins 33 and moved the toggle members into and past dead or over center position, so as to urge the roller supporting rods 23 downwardly against springs 29 and move the roller 30 out ofthe printing plane at substantially the moment when the printed sheet reaches the end of its forward movement 'with the carriage I8. Thus the clamping engagement between the roller 30 and bottom of the carriage is released so that the printed sheet is free to be discharged onto the discharge apron. Y v l' As previously pointed out, the platens* are mounted in the carriage I8 in a manner to have their bottom, ink portionsl disposedin'a plane sloping upwardly fromwthe rearward or handle end of the carriage toward the front end'thereof. This provision results in moving the ro1lerf`30 downwardly against its springs 23 intoV position which makes the toggle action quick and easy, since the distance through which the'toggles would have to be movedv andthe effort required to move themwould constitute an appreciable and sudden shock or impediment to the forward movementof the carriage as it neared the end' of vits printing stroke.

Where the un'printed sheet is tobepositioned f accurately, theregister rollers of Figs. 11 and 12 are employed'instead of the end stud IIII. In this case the lower end of the'paperstack lies against the slotted stud IIB and the rollers II3 ridev onthe topmost sheet. As the latter sheet--moves forwardly with the advance of arm 95, its forward or upper edge will assume a particular position on roller 30, and at the same time, the lower edge of this sheet will pass from beneath rollers II3, and should there be any slight tendency of the advanced sheet to move Q is advanced by the feed-arm it would already be slightly ahead of its normal position. Thus,A

when this sheet is fed forward, itsv upper edge will lie too far forward on the roller 30. I-Iowever, this sheet will be properly positioned by a return movement of the carriage. Just before the roller 30 is snapped against the buffer lugs or bosses |30, the notchesl32 in the latter will engage the `forward edge of the pre-advanced sheet and slide it back into proper position, and this backward movement is stopped at the right point by the register' rollers II3 inthe manner previously pointed out. f

While I have .described in detail specific means for accomplishing the several objects of the invention, I do not desire to be restricted to such details but intend to-avail myself of all modifications, variations, and combinations of the novel duplicating ap-paratus dened by the annexed claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: y

l 1. A duplicating machine including a reciprocable carriage, a platen positioned therebelow, means for stretching a stencil across the bottom of said platen, and the latter having means of feeding ink to the stencil, a roller below said carriage, yieldable means normally urging said roller against said platen and a stencil thereon, toggle mechanism arranged for operation by said carriagewhen the saineI approaches the limit of movement in one direction to position said roller out of engagement with said platen stencil thereon, and means for feeding paper one sheet at a time into position between-said roller and platen,

said means including an inclined platform, a feed arm reciprocably mounted thereabove, yieldable means normally urging said arm into retracted position, lever means cooperable With'said arm for operation by said carriage to`advancev said feed arm, and means for frictionally engaging a sheet of paper on said platform and moving the same toward said roller when said feed arm is advance, said means including a feed member supported for rocking movement on said feed arm, said member being adapted to ride on a sheet of paper therebelow and having a friction surfacey adapted to bearagainst said sheet when said arm is advanced, and a gliding surface presented to the 'said sheet whensaid feed arm is retracted. v v Y.

2. .A duplicating machine including an elongated housing having a hood part and portions cut out adjacent its longitudinal extremities in said hood part, acarriage having stencil-engaging means and stencil-inking means, said carriage-being longitudinally reciprocable in said housing, roller means 'below said carriagey and spring means urging the samev for printing engagement 'with the bottom region of said carriage and a stencil thereon so as to press a sheet against the same, said roller being movablev downwardly away from saidA carriage against the l'ac-'- tion of the spring means aforesaid, toggle means for moving said roller against the action of said spring means vout of printing engagement as aforesaid, means on said carriage operatively engageable withsaid ltoggle means when lthe carriage approaches one extreme position to move and hold said .roller away from the carriage, and means onthe carriage operable when the latter approaches its limit of movement in an opposite direction to operate said toggle means and so'as to permit said rollerto be urged, toward said carriage and stencil, together with means'y 1 bottom of-said carriage.'

A3. In a duplicating machine having a reciprocable carriage, paper feeding means in the-form of an inclined platform, a printing roller at thek upper end of said platform and adapted to bear against the bottom region of said carriage, a feedv arm supported for reciprocable movement above said platform, mechanism operable by reciprocation of said carriage to reciprocate said feed arm,` and a feed device in the form of arocking member pivotally carried by said feed arm and having a gliding surface disposed substantially radially of its axis of pivotation, a stop `portion substantially opposite to said rocking surface land engageable with a part' on said arm to limit the rocking movement of said member, and the latter having friction means disposed adjacent said gliding surface and substantiallyradial to said aXis of pivotation, the said member being adapted to lie on the upper sheet of a stack on said platform and being operable when said feed arm is advanced by movement of said carriage `to rock in a direction to position said friction means against said sheet and urge thelatter in the direction of advancing movement of said feed arm and toward said roller, said rocking member pivoting to cause its said gliding surface to bear against said sheet whensaid feed arm is retracted and moves back in the reverse direction, whereby paper may be fed sheet by sheet froma said stack toward and between said roller and the bottom regionof said carriage. 4'. In a duplicating machine cable carriage, paper feeding means in the form of an inclined platform, a printing roller at the upper endof said platform and adapted to bear against the bottom region of said carriage, a feed arm supported for reciprocable movement about said platform, mechanism operable b-y reciprocation of said carriage to reciprocate said feed arm, and a feed device in the form of a rocking member pivotally carried by said feed arm and having, a gliding surface disposed substantially radially of its axis of pivotation, a stop portion substantially opposite to said rocking surface and engageable with a part` on said arm to limit the rocking movement of said member, vand the latter having friction means disposed adjacent said gliding surface and substantiallyl radial to said axis of pivotation, thev said member being adapted to lie on the upper sheet of a stack on said platform and being operable when saidfeed arm is advanced by movement of said carriage to rock in a direction to position said friction means against said sheet and urge the latter in the direction of advancing movement of said feed arm and toward said roller, said rocking member pivoting to cause its said gliding surface to bear against said sheet when-said feed arm is retracted and moves back in the reverse direction, paper guide means on said platform, and register means in the form of a second arm having a pivotal support on saidplatform and against which support the lower edge portions of said stack are adapted to rest, said second armhaving a pair of register rollers normally resting on the uppersheet of the stack and having their peripheralsurfaces disposed in a substantially tangential sense relative to the line of movement of said sheets toward said printing roller, whereby retrograde movehaving a reciproment of an advanced sheet is limited when said feed arm is retracted as aforesaid.

5. In a duplicating machine,ink feed and impression means including .a frame, means supporting said frame for reciprocalmotion, av traylike platen member having a flatbottom portion with `ink holes communicating therethrough, means for supporting said platen in said frame with the outerv surface of said'bottomdisposed at an anglek to the plane of movement-of said frame, an ink absorbing member disposed over said outer bottom surface to receive inkv from said holes, the lower-or outer surface of said absorbing Vmember being somewhat below said frame, means on said frame for holding a stencil sheet against said absorbing member, and roller impression means below said frame and arranged to bear yieldingly against a stencil held against said absorbing meanson said platen so as to press a sheet ofY paper against said stencil when said frame is moved over said roller. d n,

6. In a duplicating machine, a platencarriage reciprocable between an initial and an advanced position, a retractable impression roller over which said carriage moves to print or impress a sheet of ypaper positioned` therebetween, feed mechanism'operable by said carriage when the same approaches said initial position to automatically position a sheet of paper between said roller and said carriage, over-center lever means coacting-withsaid carriage for automatically retracting said roller from printing engagement with said carriage when the latter approaches said advanced position whereby .a printed sheet may befreed from between the-platen carriage and roller when the carriage reaches the end of its printing stroke, said retracting means being constructed and arranged to restore lsaid roller into printing position, atisubstantially the moment of the vreturn of said carriage fromadvanced position to initial position, and after said i feed mechanism has positioned a sheet as aforesaid. f l f 7. In a duplicating machine, a relatively stationary'impressio-n roller, a carriage .and platen means thereon arranged to move over said roller and carry a paper sheet thereover, and guide meansin the form of laterally directed. end wing members positioned at the axial extremities of said roller and having a surface extended laterally of the axis of the roller and closely adjacent the upper periphery of said roller, said wings further having nger portions turnedinwardly toward the central line of a sheet moving over said roller, and said fingers being curved downwardly in such manner that only their respective inward finger extremities engage the moving sheet.

8. In a deviceiof the class described having a movable platen member, impressionmeans including an impression roller mounted for movereceiving stencil below said platen, an impression roller mounted for reciprocable movement into and out of engagement with said platen, snapaction mechanism for moving said roller quickly into and out of engagement with the platen, said snap-action mechanism being constructed and arranged for actuation by said carriage when the latter moves toward predetermined positions to effect movement of the roller as aforesaid, and paper feeding mechanismarranged for operation by said carriage in timed relation to movement of the latter so as to feed an impression-receiving substance into position substantially between said roller and the platen substantially at the time said roller is moved away from the platen as aforesaid, together with manually operable mechanism for actuating said snap-action mechanism.

l0. In a duplicating machine, a printing platen arranged for back and forth movement, an mpression roller, a pair of supporting arms one at each axial of the roller and rotatably supporting the saine, said arms being mounted forv reciprocable movement to move said roller toward and away from said platen, spring means normally urging said arms to dispose said roller toward said platen., a pair of piv-otally connected toggle levers for each of said supporting arms, one of said levers of each pair having pivotal connection with a relatively stationary part of said machine and the other said lever having pivotal connection with one of said supporting arms, said pairs of levers being jointly movable in opposite directions to effect joint movement of said supporting arms to move said roller toward and away from said platen, and means having connection with the lcommon pivotal juncture of the levers of each pair and arranged forengagement by said platen when the latter is in predetermined positions for effecting movement of said levers to move the roller in the manner aforesaid responsive to movement of said platen.

11. In a duplicating machine, a printing platen arranged for back and forth movement, an impression roller, a pair of supporting arms one at each axial end of the roller and rotatably supporting the same, said arms being mounted for reciprocable movement to move said roller toward and away from said platen, spring means normally urging said arms to\dispose said roller toward said platen, a pair of pivotally connected toggle levers for each of said supporting arms, one of said levers of each pair having pivotal connection with a relatively stationary part of said machine and the other said lever having pivotal connection with one of said supporting arms, said pairs of levers being jointly movable in opposite directions to effect joint movement of said supporting arms to move said roller toward and away from said platen, and means having connection with the common pivotal juncture of Vthelevers of each pair and arranged for engagement by said platen when the latter is in predetermined positions for effecting movement of said levers to move the roller in the manner aforesaid responsive to movement of said platen, together with manually operable mechanism for moving said pairs of toggle levers back and forth jointly to eect selective movement of the roller in the manner set forth.

l2. In a device of the class described including a reciprocable carriage, paper feeding means including an inclined apron below said carriage, an arm mounted for reciprocation in the direction of inclination of said apron, said apron being adapted to support a stack of paper thereon beneath said arm, a rocker mounted on said arm and having a smooth surface and a friction surface adjacent thereto, said rocker being adapted to bear on the topmost sheet of said stack, mechanism actuated by said carriage for reciprocating said rocker, said rocker being rocked by movement of said arm in one direction to cause said friction surface to bear against said topmost sheet to effect advance of the latter by movement of said in said direction, said rocker being rocked to present said smooth surface to the underlying sheet when said arm is moved in an Opposite direction. 'y f v 13. In a device of the class described, register means for paper feeding mechanism, said means including an inclined apron arranged to support a stack of paper, the topmost sheet of which is to be advanced in a particular direction off of the stack, an arm mounted for pivotal movement about an axis transverse to the direction of movement of said advanced sheet, said arm having roller means mounted thereon remote from its pivotal axis and being mounted near the lower end of said apron with said roller means bearing against the topmost sheet of the stack at a point in advance of the lowermost edge of the stack in such manner lthat when the topmost sheet is advanced as aforesaid, the lower edge thereof will be advanced from beneath said roller means and be prevented by the latter from retrograde movement back beneath the roller means. v

14. In a duplicating machine, in combination, a stencil carrier movable back and forth between opposite terminal positions, an impression roller, mechanism for moving and holding said roller against or away from said carrier into and out of impressing relationship relative thereto, means actuated by the carrier when the same approaches one terminal position for operating said roller moving and holding mechanism to move the roller out of impressing relationship with the car.- rier and hold the roller in such condition during movement of the carrier back toward the opposite terminal, means for positioning a stack of paper sheets adjacent said opposite terminal, feeding means for moving sheets one ata time from said stack in beneath the carrier, and driving means operated by the carrier for actuating said feeding means so as to advance and dispose a sheet beneath the carrier prior to arrival of the latter at said opposite terminal, said roller being held as aforesaid away from the carrier so as to underlie said advanced sheet, said carrier being arranged to operate said roller moving and holding mechanism to dispose the roller back into impressing position as the carrier moves into said opposite terminal whereby the advanced sheet will be pressed by the roller toward the carrier and against the stencil thereon.

ALBERT P. LEE` 

